K-9 Unit

The Toms River Police Department’s K-9 Unit was formed in 1986. The K-9 teams from Toms River and surrounding departments attend a sixteen-week patrol academy, hosted by the Toms River Police Department, where they are trained to track a human scent, perform building and area searches and apprehend suspects. The K-9s then advance to a twelve-week narcotics school where the dogs learn to sniff out various illegal narcotics.

Upon completion of training, the K-9’s and their handlers are assigned to the Patrol Division and are available to assist local, county and other agencies when needed. There are currently four K-9 teams working in Toms River; Sergeant James Reilly and K-9 Brutus, Patrolman Scott Eubanks and K-9 Boris, Patrolman Kyle Martucci and K-9 Cyrus and Patrolman Rich Buhowski and K-9 Gunnar. All of the K-9’s currently working in Toms River are German Shepherds purchased from Europe with donations from several local organizations along with drug forfeiture funds.